English Church History

John Kasich calls it like he sees it. A former long-time U.S. congressman, a respected author, and popular television host, Kasich has been around the neighborhood a few times. In his first book, Courage Is Contagious, he celebrated the under-the-radar accomplishments of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to change America. Now, in Stand for Something, he tackles head-on the erosion of long-standing, hard-earned values upon which our nation is built.

Here is a compelling tract for our times, addressed to evangelicals, designed to set the agenda for the coming years. It calls for presenting Christ credibly to the 21st century, rehabilitating the term "evangelical" to mean good news, and engaging in spiritual and social transformation.

Rise of ISIS gives a better understanding of the modern face of terror, and provides an overview of the laws of war and war crimes. These laws differentiate between the guilty and innocent, and explain why the US military and the Israeli Defense Forces are often limited in their defensive measures. The authors’ firsthand experience, including multiple appearances before the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court at The Hague, along with direct contact battling jihadists during operation Iraqi Freedom lends insight into this important geopolitical issue.

Every day of the week in contemporary America (and especially on Sundays) people raise money for their religious enterprises - for clergy, educators, buildings, charity, youth-oriented work, and more. In a fascinating look into the economics of American Protestantism, James Hudnut-Beumler examines how churches have raised and spent money from colonial times to the present and considers what these practices say about both religion and American culture.

Considering the current anti-Christian cultural events and the perverted spiritual state of the nation among its people and media, can we, as one nation under God, still justly proclaim to be a Christian nation? Take a trip through time as we review the rise and fall of the influence and impact Christianity and the church has had in America's culture, development, and destiny!

Many people are aware of the injustices Black Americans have suffered over the centuries but feel powerless when it comes to repairing the harm done. Robert Turner provides an accessible guide for individuals and groups wanting to influence significant institutional action while also acting on their own to repair the effects of racial injustice in our communities, churches, and spheres of influence.

The role of women in the Christian Church is the subject of heated debate. In this powerful book Julia Ogilvy interviews twelve of the most notable Christian women of our time, providing a telling and at times shocking analysis of the situation today. The women – from the Dean of York and the Presiding Bishop in America to Helena Kennedy QC and Dr Elaine Storkey – share some of the pain, disappointment and hurt they have experienced and reflect on the impact of a patriarchal Church on the suffering of women across the world.

Pools of blood, scenes of carnage, signs of agonising death - who deals with the aftermath of violence once the bodies have been taken away? Judith Kepler has seen it all. She is a crime-scene specialist. She turns crime scenes back into habitable spaces. She is a cleaner. It is at the home of a woman who has been brutally murdered that she is suddenly confronted with her own past. The murder victim knew Judith's secret: as a child Judith was sent to an orphanage under mysterious circumstances - parentage unknown.

Shaw, widely known and read Catholic writer, speaker, and former communications director for the US Bishops, discusses the abuse of secrecy in the Church, the scandals it has caused, and the serious problem of mistrust that exists in the credibility of the Church. Not concerned with the legitimate secrecy that is necessary to protect confidentiality and peoples reputations, Shaw is rather concerned here with the stifling, deadening misuse of secrecy that has done immense harm to communion and community in the Church.

Many people today, especially among emerging generations, don't resonate with the church and organized Christianity. Some are leaving the church and others were never part of the church in the first place. Yet often they are still spiritually open and fascinated with Jesus. This is a ministry resource book exploring six of the most common objections and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church and Christianity.

In this biography of a key figure in Korean Church history, Rev. Sang-Dong Han (the founder of the Korean Presbyterian Church in Korea, Koshin, denomination), Rev. Koon Sik Shim, a personal friend of Rev. Sang-Dong Han and person who also experienced various stages of Korean history as "a living witness", recounts the life and work of Rev. Sang-Dong Han. This book is a "must have" for all those who are interested in Korean history and learning how it relates to American and world church history.

This brief and lively pamphlet on the history of the medieval church is a concise and entertaining introduction to an extremely complex subject. Covering the period between the seventh century and 1500, the author provides succinct summaries of major developments like the Crusades, the growth of scholastic and mystical theology, the removal of the Papacy to Avignon, and the great councils convened to resolve the papal schism.

The most famous church in Jerusalem for nearly 2,000 years, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, often called the Church of the Resurrection, was built in the era of St. Constantine, and the church as a structure has no history separable from the city of Jerusalem and its environs. It is venerated as being on the site where Jesus was crucified and buried, and naturally, making it a crucial pilgrimage site for Christians, and it is now the home of the Greek Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate.

Before the Revolutionary War, America was a nation divided by different faiths. But when the war for independence sparked in 1776, colonists united under the banner of religious freedom. Evangelical frontiersmen and Deist intellectuals set aside their differences to defend a belief they shared, the right to worship freely. Inspiring an unlikely but powerful alliance, it was the idea of religious liberty that brought the colonists together in the battle against British tyranny.

Charles E. Curran explores the social mission of the U.S. Catholic Church from a theological perspective, analyzing and assessing four aspects: the importance of social mission, who carries it out, how it is carried out, and the roles that the Church and individual Catholics play in supporting these efforts. In the early and mid-twentieth century the Catholic Church in the United States tended to focus its social mission on its own charities, hospitals, and schools.

On September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, was bombed, killing four young girls. Who were the perpetrators? Due to reluctant witnesses and racial prejudice, the FBI closed the case without any indictments. But as Martin Luther King, Jr., claimed, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Bending Toward Justice is a detailed account of this key moment in our national struggle for equality and the long road to prosecuting those responsible for the tragedy, related by an author who played a major role in the investigation.

This important audiobook contains eight articles by Korean Christian clergy and scholars who have experienced the vibrancy of Korean Christianity in Australia and New Zealand. Many of these scholars have been participants in the history-making process. This audiobook, therefore, is an indispensable resource for scholars, pastors, laypeople, and the interested public who want to understand the experience of Korean Christians better.

Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary isn’t a book of theory. It’s an action plan to help you relate the message of Christ to the people you work around, live with, and call your friends. Using personal experiences, humor, compelling stories, biblical illustrations, and the latest research, Lee Strobel helps you to understand non-Christians and what motivates them.

Among the traditional tenets of the Christian faith is the belief that God chooses or elects people for salvation. For some Christians, such an affirmation is an indication of God's sovereign and perfect will. For others, such a notion is troubling for it seems to downplay the significance of human agency and choice. Throughout the church's history, Christians have sought to understand the meaning of relevant biblical texts and debated this theological conundrum.

Over more than a quarter of a century, John Paul II has firmly set his stamp on the billion-member strong Catholic Church for future generations and he has become one of the most influential political figures in the world. His key role in the downfall of communism in Europe, as well as his apologies for the Catholic Church's treatment of Jews and to victims of the Inquisition, racism, and religious wars, won him worldwide admiration.